Algerian President puts normalization with Israel on the table
Algerian President Tebboune has said normalization with Israel is on the table if Palestinian statehood is achieved.
The New Arab reported on February 3rd that the north African state, historically strongly opposed to the normalize ties with Israel, would be prepared to establish diplomatic ties if a sovereign Palestinian state is established.
Despite Tebboune saying his new position aligns with those of his predecessors, his comments mark a “notable departure” from Algeria’s traditional stance which takes issue with Israel retaining its role as an occupying power on Palestinian territory and blocking the creation of a Palestinian state.
With opposition parties typically refraining from challenging foreign policy decisions made by the state, there has been swift and public backlash from the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) – the largest opposition party in Algeria.
The party condemned “any settlement or normalization projects with the Zionist entity,” describing Israel as an “aggressive occupier” that aims to “Judaise the nation’s holy sites,” reported by The New Arab.
Despite Tel Aviv voicing its intentions to establish diplomatic relations in the Maghreb, the Palestinian cause has continued to be a ‘red line’ for Algeria, with a staunchly pro-Palestinian population.
Their rejection of Israeli relations is demonstrated with the severing of ties with Morocco following Rabat’s 2020 normalization deal with Israel and Algeria’s airspace remaining closed to all Moroccan flights.
Tunisia has also categorically denied any discussions of diplomatic ties with Israel and protests erupted in Libya in January 2025 following suggestions that the former Foreign Minister’s controversial 2023 meeting with former Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was arranged by the government in Tripoli.
Tebboune’s apparent softening on Algeria’s stance on normalization appears in contradiction to the role they played as mediator in the 2022 reconciliation agreement between rival Palestinian factions which ended 15 years of discord and violence.
In a time where Trump appears willing to exert vast levels of pressure on states in order to support Israel, and the regional move to normalize relations with Israel, the behaviour of the governments in the Maghreb are seemingly in opposition to the views of their people who remain active advocates for the Palestinian cause.
The New Arab, Maghrebi
